PROTOCOL REDUCES OPIOID USE IN SPINAL SURGERY PATIENTS

A novel "Enhanced Recovery After Surgery" (ERAS) protocol developed by Penn Medicine for patients undergoing spinal and peripheral nerve surgery significantly reduced opioid use. A new study published in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine showed that when an ERAS protocol was employed -- which optimizes patients' surgical care before, during, and after surgery, including patient education, post-operative medications, and recovery plans -- fewer patients needed pain medications one month after surgery.

Nearly 75 percent of patients at Penn Medicine who undergo spinal surgeries are opioid nave -- patients who are not chronically taking opioids on a daily basis -- putting them at an increased risk for dependency following surgery. Previous studies have also shown that up to 7 percent of all patients who undergo spinal surgeries continue to take opioids one year after surgery. Part of the ERAS protocol at Penn includes a personalized, safe, and effective pain management plan to help prevent opioid dependency, which has rapidly become a public health crisis in the United States.

"ERAS protocols engage each aspect of the patient's surgical journey to improve clinical outcomes and optimize a safe recovery," said lead author and principal investigator Zarina S. Ali, MD, an assistant professor of Neurosurgery ...